Method for making tire casings



April 21, 1931. 1 STEINLE 1,801,759

METHOD FOR MAKING TIRE cAsINGs Original Filed May 23, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,'11l//ll//////////////////lllllllll,f1 I

April 21, 1931.

w. J. STEINLE 1,801,759

METHOD FOR MAKING TIRE GASINGS Original Filed May 23. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 attoznu .-lifatentecl Apr. 21, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM J'. STEINLE, DECEASED, LAT OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK, BY WILLIAM l STEINLE, ADMINISTRATOR, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE HART- FORD RUBBER WORKS COMPANY, F HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION 0F CONNECTICUT METHOD non MAKING 'TIRE cAsINGs original 'applieuon mea May 23, 1922, serial No. 562,965, Patentino. 1554351, dated December 27, 1927'.

. Y Divided and this application led October 5, 1927. Serial No. 224,080.

rlhis'invention relates to. the manufacture 7 of tire casings for motor vehicles and more .particularly to a process or method for their fabrication. The present application is a divisional application of Patent 1,654,351.

AA most advantageous way to build tire casingsformotor vehicles is to initially assemble their constituent parts-fabricy vor cords and rubber composition-in the form of m a band similar to the face of a pulley, i. e.,

substantially straight or flat in cross-section but peripherally circular, or nearly so. This method is used in commercial production at the present day and is often referred to as the pulley-band process. One object of the present invention is to modify and adapt the present pulley-band process, retaining its advantages in initially building the tire while extending and increasing its usefulness so as to facilitate and improve upon the manufacturev of casings therewith, especially the clincher type, but also the straight-side or inextensibly beaded type. Another object of the present invention is to enable casings of any type to be built with their stress-resisting-elements-cords or threads-in the nished casings more nearly radial, i. el, at a greater angle to their margins than the angle at which they were cut or initially assembled in pulley-band form, thereby to provide a superior construction for resisting rim chafing in clinclier casings and renderingstraightside or inextensibly beaded casings stiffer in the region of the beads.l Still another 0bj ect of the invention'is to shape a casing froin band to tire ,form Without differentially press-A ing upon the opposite faces of its tread, or

1n any Way applying a pressure directly to the `intermediate portion of the -casing to cause it to bulge radially outward, the shapA object of the invention is to provide a methodof making a casing which will swing th stress-resisting elements not only more near- `ly radial at the beads but also swing them in the tread-forming region of v`the band lessthan in the old method, thereby enabling the bead portions and to casingtofmore readily take a'high and slim.

'plies of the casings be initially assembled in pulley-band form with their stress-resisting-elements at the same angle, or at various angles in the foliated carcass.

.Without intention to limit more than is required by the prior art, the invention may be briefly described as consisting in making a vpulley-band whose girth or circumference at the margins is less than at its center, then forming the pulley-band approximately into tire shape, and then vulcanizing the casing.` More particularly, it is preferred to build the pulley-band flat on a collapsible drum and then contract its margins; i. e., lessen their circumferential extent, so as to bring the stress-resisting-elements into a position more nearly radial, i. e., making a greater angle with the margins than before contraction of the margins. In other` Words, it is preferred to build the pulleybandV fiat and by contraction of its margins, to condense the fabric, or cords,- which constitute the stress-resisting-elements-adjacent the edges of "the band. The pulley-band may be ln ariously shaped to approximately tire form, but it is preferred which are closed upon the Hat, orcrescentshaped, pulley-band, so as to first turn in the p progressively engage more and more of the margins of the pulleyband, thereby distending the central portion of the band without the aid necessarily of an inflating tube, or compressed air, or a differential pressure of any kind applied to the band, or casing.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following detailed description of an Vembodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:-

ig. 1 is a cross-section of a clincher casing with the constituent parts shown spaced casing.

or separated for convenience in illustration,

Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a completed clincher casing as built in the preferred form, straight from edge to edge, on a collapsible drum,

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of a clincher casing in the shape it naturally assumes when removed from the building-drum, being shown in position about a bull-ring and between abutment or pusher members, preliminary to the shaping operation,

Fig. 4 is a cross-section ofl a casing in an intermediate stage of the shaping operation,

Fig. 5 is a cross-section showing the casing in its approximate tire shape and with its beaded portions secured to a molding or sealing-ring which is adapted to close off the space between the beaded portions, and, in the consequent curing operation, to render the cavity inside the casing Huid tight,

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section of an apparatus for facilitating the shaping of the band to approximate-tire form, and

Fig. 7 is a half section on the line 7-7 Fig. 6.

Although the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited in its application to any particular type of casing, it is especially advantageous for the manufacture of clincherv casings; that is, those casings having extensible beads incorporated in their margins permitting the finished casings to be mounted on clincher rims. The preferred method of making clincher casings will now be described.

In making a clincher casing, it is preferable first to build layers of rubberized fabric, woven or cord, into a pulley-band. This may be done in any known manner, but it is preferred to assemble the constituents of the casing on a more or less cylindrical support, preferably a collapsible drum, such as disclosed in a prior patent to Ernest Hopkinson, No. 1,310,701, granted July 22, 1919,'and indicated conventionally at l in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The constituent plies or layers of stress-resisting-elements 2, filler strips 3, chafing strips 4, cushion stock, 5, breaker 6, tread 7, and beads 8, are built up and rolled down on the drum which has been adjusted to a diameter greater than that of the beaded portions, but less than the tread, of the final The beads 8 of clincher casings before incorporation are preferably separately and completely (or partially) cured either in an annular form at a suitable diameter, or in straight lengths and spliced to size, for clinchers, preferably of a diameter substantially the same as, or a very little less than they are to have in the finished and completely cured casing. The constituent plies of the casing having been assembled oversize (over the final bead size) on the drum, the cured beads are stretched to incorporate them in the margins of the band or fiat casing 9.

To be more explicit, and as an example, in a 30 x 3% clincher tire, the drum may be initially adjusted to a diameter of about 24%, and the annular vulcanized rubber beads 8 which have been cured separately at a diameter approximating 221/2-are stretched 7, more or less, when incorporated in the flat band.

After the clincher casing has been built as above described, the drum is collapsed and the pulley-band, or carcass, 9 freed to allow it to naturally assume the curved, or crescent, form shown in cross-section in Fig. 3, the beads 8 contracting so as to reduce the girth at the margins of the band to approximately their rim-fitting circumference in the finished casing. The decrease of the girth of the beaded margins increases with the lapse of time and allowance should bel made for the interval between collapse of the drum and the subsequent shaping of the casing, as those skilled in the art will readily comprehend.

The crescent-shaped casing 9 is then prepared for shaping to approximately tire form by button-holing7 it around a sealing-ring 10, having its sides undercut or beveled to rightly position the beaded margins when brought thereagainst. Or, the sealing-ring 10 may have formed a removable part of the building-drum and been already so located` as disclosed in Patent No. 1,470,889, dated October 16, 1923. The beaded portions, or margins of the band, indicated as a whole at 11, are then moved towards one another by oppositely advancing thereagainst annular abutment, or pusher, members 12, of any suitable shape in cross-section, preferably as shown in the drawings. Because of the initial crescent shape of the band 9, the abutment members 12 first engage with the toes of the beaded portions l1 and turn the bead gradually from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4. After the beaded portions 11 have been more or less turned as shown, further approach of the abutments 12 brings them into engagement with more and more of the side walls of the casing and progressively, thecentral portion of the casing is enlarged in girth and diminished in width by an outward rolling or annular folding from its margins towards its center. When the abutment members 12 have been approached, as far as they can be, the band 9 has been transformed to approximately tire shape and its beaded portions 11 pressed against the sealing device 10, whose undercut side walls 13 are preferably machined off at the angle and in the relation it is desired to cure the beaded portions 11, as indicated in the drawings. Preferably, the surfaces 13 of the sealing-ring and the inner faces of the beaded portions 11 are covered with cement. A gum sealing-strip, indicated at 14 in Fig. 1, may be, and is desirably, built into Fig.' 3, preferably divided, as indicated at 17, i

to accommodate a sealing-ring 10, if the latter is tov be employed for any purpose, such as curing. The cylindrical guiding support 16 may be arranged with its axis vertical or horizontal, as desired, and may be of any convenient mechanical construction.

In Figs. 6 and 7 ofthe drawings, there is illustrated apparatus that may be used with facility ineffecting the shaping of the casing to tire form and this will now be described in detail. The apparatus illustrated consists of a base 20, from the periphery of which rise upright stanchions 21, whose upper ends are rigidly secured to a ring 22, the stanchions 21 serving as guides for the apertures 23 in the ianged head 24 ofa cylinder 25 that is bored out at its opposite ends, as indicated at 26 and 27, to reciprocate upon a rod 28 fastened at its lower end, as indicated at 29, to the base 20. In a suitable position upon the rod 28 is rigidly fastened a stationary piston 30. Fluid, such as air or water under pressure, is adapted to be supplied through the line 31 and valve 32 to ports 33 and 34 in opposite ends of the cylinder, and thereby the cylinder 25 with its enlarged' head `24 is reciprocated up and down.

To the reciprocable head 24, a more or less cylindrical drum is adapted to be fastened; This drum is preferably made with a lower portion 35 intermediately bent inwardly, as at 36, to provide what maybe termed a button-holing channel, indicated at 37, the

' lower' portion 35 being adapted to be secured by a species of bayonet-slot construction, indicated at 38, to the head 24, and with a removable upper portion 39, which is adapted to bef' detachedly secured to the lower portion 35, for this latter purpose being provided with any suitable number of angulated slots 40, taking or receiving pins 41 projecting inwardly from the upper edge of the lower portion 35. The sealing-ring 10 is provided with pins 42 which are adapted to rest in slots 43 in the upper edge of the lower drum 35, and slots 44, of relatively great length are provided in the upper drum section 39 to allow the latter to be advanced toward the sealing-ring 10, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. The valve stem 10 serves as one of the ring-supporting pins. p y

The side plates or pusher rings are formed in the apparatus shown in Fig. 6, the one, as at 45, integral with the upper drum section 39, and the other, as at 46, laid upon the stanchion head 22 with its depending gib 47 l to hold it in concentric relation with its mate. These pusher members 45 and 46 are similar in contour to those illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings and operate upon the beaded portions of the casing 9 inmuch the same way.

With the apparatus shown in Fig. 6, the procedure is as follows Assuming the cylinder 25 with its head 24 in the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 6', first preferably locate the sealing-ring 10 upon the lower drum section 35, then button-hole the casing about the sealing-ring-whicli operation is facilitated by the button-holing channel 37 provided in the lower drum section 35-fand then lower the upper drum section 39 by any suitable suspension means, as indicated at 49, and position it upon the lower drum section35 and lock it in place. When fluid is admitted to the port 33 in the lower end of the cylinder, the latter with its head 24, drum sections 35 and 39, and upper pusher ring'45, will be moved .down- Wardly as a unit, the lower ring 46 remaining stationary. The beaded portions of the pulley-band or casing 9 will rst be turned through an angle of more than 90, then more and more of the side walls of the casing 9 will be flattened out, and then finally, either simultaneously or separately, the beaded portions of the casing will be brought into contact with the sealing device 10.. If the insides of the beads or the sealing-ring, or both of them, have been moistened with cement, the pulley-band will thus have its beaded portions secured upon the sealing device.

After a short interval, when the parts have set' more or less, the apparatus may b e disassembled, and, the approximately tirey shaped casingv mounted on the sealing device may be removed.- and introduced into a vulcanizing mold.

By this method of manufacture, lthere is obtained a different disposition or arrangement of the cords than is obtained inthe old ulley-band process disclosed in the patent to Hopkinson No. 1,374,505, granted April 12th, 1921. In the old method, the stress-resisting elements-cords or threads-were swung or bent more and more from the beads to the tread, at the beads the change of their ,inclination relative the margins of the band being little or none, and at the tread being a maximum. In other words, the cutting angle of the plies was preserved, or substantially preserved, immediately adjacent ,the beads, and from the same to the tread, the stress-resisting-elements were bent or shifted more nearly into parallelism with the beads. That is to say, the neutral 'ione-meaning ing the circumferential area where the stressresisting-elements were least changed or swung from theirv built-in condition-was located immediately adjacent the beads. In the present invention,'the neutral zone is 1ocated intermediate the beads and the tread, the stress-resistin -elements adjacent the beads swinging or nding into a more nearly radial position, and, adjacent the tread, swinging oppositely into a more nearly paral lel position with respect to the beads. This feature of the invention extends the scope or utility of the old pulley-band process and lCO A Y v-Jticient to point out that in building'the pulley-band liat or straight incross-section on a drum which hasbeen initially adjusted` toy a diameter greater than the beaded portions of the finished or cured casing, the Swidtli oit.-

y i enablesnctonlyclincher casings factured therewith to advanta'e,"butY also jacent theb'ea'ds is deemed a better construction to resist chaling asV it not only prevents rim cutting in clinchers,'but also stili'ens the walls of straightside. casings ladjacenttlie sisting-elements are swung-also enables the Vcasing to -be built liigher land thinner'than with the'old process, or-rather, more readily so made.' It will not beendeavored to exs plain the reasonfor this, it being deemed suf- Y thecasing in the lat is less than its'width aoV inthe iinished or cured condition. In' the size of tire previously given Yas' an example-Qa x 3% clincher-this decrease in 'spacing about half an inch. 0f course, itis vtobe vunderstoodthat this will vary Vwith the size of the tire. The green casing in its shaping" from the Hat -form increases in widtli, proba# bly because of the swing of the stress-resists ing-elements into a more nearly radialrela- A Atioii with the' beads. These unexpected re- 'Bil sults are obtained even when the shaping performed merely by pushing upon the inargins. of the 'band without simultaneously pushing with an inflatable tube, or directlyV with air, against the inside central portion of the band. Obviously, this feature is of peculiar and especial advantage in manuacturing'clincher casings as it eliminates, or at least diminishes, the tendency to enlarge the circumference of the elastic beads which heretofore has been troublesome intheold pulley-band process.

Shaping the tire purely mechanically -between presser plates or platens of press without air pressure applied directly, or through the walls of a rubber tube, or any outward ressure means bulging the center of the and, is preferred as a step in the method because of its simplicity. No complicated apparatus is required as any means may be used to push the presser plates towards one another. nd an air bag may be readilyintroduced in the casi-ng before or after it is shaped, a feature of especial advantage when such elastic walled containers are employed during the cure. f

ln the claims, the term oversize is used to mean a band that is built Hat or curved in cross-section either entirely, or at least for the central portion of its width, at a diameter greater than the beaded portions of the nished casinV and less than the tread portion thereof. e extent of oversi'zing is, of

course, variable to suit requirements, the largscope.

1 As previously stated, t-hecasinglgis preferer diameter, the-less the ably. formed-of stress-resisting-elements and f rubber." composition flat` upon.- a, building@A drum-but it maybe built flat-iii other ways, as, 1 for instance,by windingacord about beads. vThe manner inwhich the Stress-respaced bead wires as' disclosed in the'prior vart. Cord fabric severed-fromA a rubberized web on arbias cuttingmachin'e isjthe preferred. material, lbut square woven fabric? -may be' usedin-my process with unusual fa ited tov details Vandaim to comprehendv all linodilicaiti,ons inthe method and in the appa ratus'fjwhicli are fairly Within --the vdisclosed principles.'V Many. Achan esand alterations mag/ be made without ev arting-rom the Vun erlying principlesof t e invention and `reference' Vshouldjtherefo're be made to the l ppended claims for an understanding of its Having thus described the invention, what is claimed' and desired to protect by Letters Patentis: y" r j 1 1. A method of making'gal tirecasing for motor vehicles which'. consistsV in, making a substantially cylindrical 1 oversize pulleyband oftvstress-resisting-elements and rubber composition incorporating elastic beads while stretched in the margins of the cylin? drical pulley-band, permitting the incorpo- ,-'it endeavored to fully and adequately 3 `s`closeJ-the invention,l but it is tobe understood that itis not-ltofbe'limover's'ize" and subse nent-'condensing of the j mars] 4 vfort e greater. easewitli which woven fabric ratedfbeadsV to contract and make the pulleyband. o'f'less circumference marginally than centrally, `forming the Y ulleyfband to aproxiinate" tire shapeV ho din it so sha d ind anauy vlucanizin 'g, pe 2. A method of ma g a tire casing for motor kvehicles which consists in, making a cylindrical pulley-band of rubber composition and stress-resisting-elements in layers inclined to its margins, contracting the margins of the band to approximately ft a wheel rim and thereby increasing the angle the end portions of the elements make with the margins, forming the band whose centrally is greater than at its mar approximately into tire shape, and inams casina'.

3. method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in' aking a m .substantially cylindrical pulley-band oversize and of rubber composition and stress-resisting-elements in layers inclined to its margins, incorporating vulcanized rubber beads while stretched in theinargins of the band,

y vulcanizing the a permitting the b eads to contract and marginally condense the layers of inclined stressresistingelements',- forming the band to tire shape, sealing the space between the beads of the casing thus formed, and finally vulcanizing the casing.

4. A method of making atire casingfor motor vehicles which consists in,r1naking a p substantially cylindrical pulley-band overting Aeo size and of rubber vcomposition and stressresisting-elements inclined to its margins, incorporating vulcanized rubber beads while stretched in the margins of the band, permitthe beads to contract and marginally condense the layers of inclined stress-resisting-elements, forming the band to tire shape, and finally vulcanizing the casing.

5. A method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, making a substantially cylindrical pulley-band oversize and of rubber composition and stressresisting-elements in layers inclined to its margins, applying contracting members to the margins of the band, permitting the margins of the band to be contracted by the mem--` bers and the band to be thereby formed of less 'girth at its margins than centrally, forming the band to tire shape, and finally vulcanizing the casing.

6. A method of making a clincher tire casin for motor vehicles which consists in, building a pulley-band oversize and of rubber composition and stress-resisting-elements, the. latter in layers inclined to its margins and the band from edge to edge being substantially straight, enclosing vulcanized rubber beads while stretched in the margins of 'the band, permitting the enclosed beads to contract to a substantially pre-determined extent and marginally swing the end portions of the stress-resisting-elements, forming the band to tire shape by bringing its marglns to a substantial extent into approximate parallelism while the opposite faces of the central portions of the band are under substantially equal Huid pressure, subsequently sealing the-space between the beaded margins of the casing, and finally vulcanizing the casing under internal Huid-pressure. Y

7. A method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, forming decreasing the girth of the endless band at its margins, shaping the resultant form of band into approximately tireform, and vulcanizing the casing.

9. A method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, forming stress-resisting-elements and rubber composition into an endless oversize band substantially straight` in cross-section, incorporating vulcanized rubber beads under tension in the 'margins of the endless band, allowing the 'endless band thus formed to assume its natural shape pre-determined by the tension in.

the beads as applied, shaping the resultant band thus formed into approximately tire form, and finally vulcanizing the casing.

10. A method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, forming stress-resisting-elements and rubber composition into 'an endless oversize band substantially straight in cross-section, incorporating vulcanized rubber beads under tension in the margins of the endless band, freeing at least the edges of the endless band so as to allow its maro'ins to contract to approximately the circumference of the finished beaded portions of the casing, forming the band thus derived to approximately tire shape, and finally vulcanizing the casing.

11. A method o making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, building stress-resisting-elements and rubber composit-ion intol a multiply pulley-band oversize and substantially straight in cross-section, subsequently decreasing the circumference of the pulley-band at its marginsand increasing its circumference at its center and forming the pulley-band to approximately tire shape, enclosin the pulley-band between rigid mold mem ers, and finally vulcanizing the casing. h

12. A method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which consists in, forming stress-resisting-elements and rubber composition into an endless band substantially strai ht in cross-section, subsequently formin t is band into tire shape between platens wlle the free or explosed portions of its opposite faces are su jected to substantially equal iuid pressure, settin the band in approximate tire shape, and ally vulcanizing the casing. 13. That method of making a tire casing for motor vehicles which includes building a laminated flat pulley-band oversize and of rubberized strain-resisting-elements, the width from edge to edge being less than in the casing when finished, forming the pulleyband to approximately tire shape and simultaneously increasing the width of the laminations between the beads, and finally completely vulcanizing the casing.

14. A method of making a tire casing forr motor vehicles which consists in, making a cylindrical pulley-band of rubber composition and stress-resisting-elements in layers inclined to its margins and of a. diameter intermediate the tread and bead diameters of the product sought, subsequently forming the band to approximately tire shape by stretch ing it centrally and condensing it marginally, and finally completely vulcanizing the casing.

15. In the pulley-band method of making a tire casing comprising-,strain resisting y elements and elastic elements, the steps consisting in assembling a strain resisting element in cooperative relation to a stretched elastic element, and then utilizing the contraction of the elastic ,element for shaping the strain resisting element in the tire casing.

Signed at New York, county and State of Y New York, this 13th day of September, 1927.

WILLIAM STEINLE,

Administrator of the Estate of Wllz'wm, J.

Sez'nZe,-Deceased. 

